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Audi’s real-life ‘Gran Turismo’ car will race at Formula E
Audi originally created the e-tron Vision Gran Turismo for the PlayStation 4, exclusively for virtual racing. But now the company is building the vehicle as a fully fledged, operational concept car. The electric e-tron Vision Gran Turismo will compete in Formula E, starting with the race in Rome on Saturday, April 14th.
Bentley is the latest luxury car maker committing to EVs
Just a few weeks after Bentley unveiled its first all-electric concept convertible, a lead designer confirmed that the car company known for its gas-guzzling vehicles could start making electric cars fairly soon. Bentley is just the latest in a long line of car makers planning to go electric, of course, with Toyota, Volvo, Porsche, Audi and of course Tesla all in the race to supply our electric car future.
Audi Sport's e-tron GT will be based on Porsche's Mission E
Audi's performance Sport division announced that will introduce a four-door high-performance EV as part of Audi and VW's grand electrification plans. The E-Tron GT will be based on the Porsche Mission E platform and built alongside the E-Tron Quattro crossover we saw recently at the Geneva Motor Show. "We will lead our high-performance brand Audi Sport into the electric future with models like this," said Audi Chairman Rupert Stadler. "It proves that electric drive can also deliver high performance."
Audi's traffic light countdown tech comes to Washington DC
Audi's traffic light countdown has been rolling out very slowly in the US (it's active in just seven cities so far), but it just made one of its biggest expansions yet: it's now available in Washington, DC. Pull up to one of 600 connected intersections in the country's capital and your compatible Audi will tell you how long you have before the light turns green. You shouldn't be caught off-guard when an interminably long red finally changes.
Here's what you missed at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show
This year's Geneva Motor Show seemed to be all about going fast without stopping at the gas pump. Gas-powered vehicles continue to dominate the market, but automakers took the opportunity to showcase their electrified roadmap as they transition from oil to electrons.
Audi gives Airbus' flying taxi concept a stylish makeover
Did you think Airbus' Pop.Up flying taxi concept was a little drab? So did Audi. It teamed up with Airbus and Italdesign to unveil Pop.Up Next, a reworked version of the two-seat autonomous vehicle concept. The new version is more stylish than the mostly functional original, and borrows more than a few cues from Audi's current design language. However, it should also be more practical -- it's supposed to be "significantly" lighter than the original, which is rather important for a hybrid passenger drone.
Audi put 250 camouflaged e-tron prototypes on Geneva’s roads
While we patiently wait for Audi to unveil the production version of the upcoming e-tron SUV, the automaker has decided to flood the roads of Geneva with camouflaged prototypes. The company also showed off a prototype during the unveiling of the A6. Like the ones on the street, it looks like a giant QR code.
Nokia and Vodafone will bring 4G to the Moon
German new-space firm PTScientists has been planning a mission to the Moon for many years now. It has partnered with Audi to produce and deliver two XPrize-winning quattro rovers to the Moon that will explore both the lunar surface and carefully return to the Apollo 17 landing site in 2019. Now the team has partnered with Vodafone and Nokia to create a Moon-based communications network using 4G LTE to bring high-def video of the moon to those of us here on Earth.
Porsche and Audi will share an electric car platform
Porsche and Audi are no stranger to sharing car innards (the Cayenne and Macan use the same basic chassis as the Q7 and Q5, for instance), and that's holding true in the electric era. Porsche's Oliver Blume and Audi's Rupert Stadler told Stuttgarter Zeitung in an interview that the two Volkswagen-owned brands will jointly develop a common EV platform that will find its way into several models from 2021 and beyond. Audi is already expecting two sedans and two SUVs, while Porsche could build its first vehicle on the platform at the same factory as the Macan. This doesn't mean you'll see an electric Macan, but that suggests it isn't an electrified coupe.
Audi smart home battery grid creates a 'virtual power plant'
Audi isn't going to let rival automakers like BMW and Tesla corner the market on home batteries. The German badge is testing a Smart Energy Network where solar-powered batteries not only help your home minimize use of the electrical grid, but talk to each other. The result is, as Audi put it, a "virtual power plant" -- households collectively feed power into the grid and help balance overall consumption.
Audi's latest models add Amazon Music to the dashboard
If you're an Apple CarPlay or Android Auto user, you've no shortage of music streaming services baked into your dashboard. But, if you're relying on your vehicle's default control panel the choices start to dwindle. While, automakers like Ford have started offering Apple and Google's infotainment systems (which play nicer with smartphones) as an alternative to their own interfaces, Audi is going it alone with a little help from Amazon. The German automotive giant now lets you access Amazon Prime Music and Amazon Music Unlimited on the dashboard inside 2017 and 2018 models.
Shell will build 80 high-power EV charging stations across Europe
This year, Royal Dutch Shell has put more of a focus on EVs, adding charging stations to a handful of its UK gas stations and acquiring NewMotion -- a Netherlands-based company with 30,000 charging points to its name. Now, as Reuters reports, Shell has committed to building 80 high-power charging stations throughout Europe by 2019.
What you need to know before buying an EV
It's an exciting time for the automotive world. Over the past 15 years, cars have gone from relatively dumb machines that get us to our destinations to electrified, connected gadgets. In the coming decade, the technology being developed by traditional automakers and nascent upstarts will not only transform the way we drive, but change how cities operate.
Major car companies partner for Europe-wide EV charging network
A group of the biggest names in the car industry have announced a joint partnership to develop a Europe-wide high-power charging (HPC) network for electric vehicles. The venture, named IONITY, draws on expertise from BMW, Daimler, Ford, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche, and aims to launch 400 HPC stations by 2020.
Apple lists the cars that can wirelessly charge your iPhone
Sure, you know that most wireless charging pads will top up the iPhone 8 or iPhone X, but what about the pad in your car? That's a little more complicated, but Apple is willing to help out. It just posted a list of manufacturers whose vehicles can charge the latest crop of iPhones, and it's mostly good news... mostly. Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo and the PSA group (Citroen, DS, Peugeot, Opel and Vauxhall) all have cars that will charge at least the iPhone 8 (and likely X), and can charge the 8 Plus if there's enough room. Be careful if you're a GM fan, though, as you'll have to be extra-picky about your driving machine.
Audi made an escape room to promote its E-Tron cars
The rise of the "escape room" has been incredible. Teams of people all over the world are now regularly battling zombies, embarking on real-life Legend of Zelda adventures or playing armchair detective via Facebook Live in fun, safe but wholly manufactured environments. The concept has become so popular that even major car makers have decided to get in on the act. Audi, for example, wanted to highlight the benefits of its all-electric E-Tron line, so it built a experience that basically presents all its future technology to the public.
Facebook brings VR to your office with the 'Oculus for Business' pack
While the new standalone Oculus Go stole the spotlight at Facebook's Oculus 4 event in San Francisco, the company did also announced its plans to bring virtual reality into the office space with the "Oculus for Business bundle. It includes a Rift VR headset, a pair of Oculus Touch controllers, three spacial sensors, and three "facial interfaces" (the foam bits that rest against your face) as well as dedicated customer support and expanded licenses and warranties.
Audi's flagship A8 has an overwhelming amount of tech
The 2019 Audi A8 is one of the most, if not the most technically advanced cars in the world, so when the company offered a test drive, how could we resist? While we didn't get to see the vaunted Level 3 self-driving, there were still a lot of cutting-edge features on display. If anything, the sheer quantity of technology was a little disconcerting when we drove the A8 through the hills of Valencia, Spain.
Audi wants autonomous cars to run errands while you're at work
Audi laid out its plans for autonomous vehicles and how it intends to use AI to us back in July, and now the automaker is ready to show off what it's been working on. At this year's IAA auto show in Frankfurt, Audi debuted the AIcon and ElAIne (above and below), a pair of cars capable of Level 4 autonomy (conditional, but fully automated driving) that it claims are empathetic to their drivers' needs. "They will be able to continually interact with their surroundings and passengers, and thus adapt themselves in a better way than ever before to the requirements of those on board," Audi wrote in a lengthy press release.
Audi's Aicon concept car is all about autonomous luxury
At the Frankfurt auto show, Audi unveiled its fully autonomous Aicon concept car. The "design study" showcases the automaker's vision of a world without steering wheels, pedals or the stress of driving.
